Green Pest Solutions
What’s grosser: cockroaches laying siege to your house, or the chemicals used to kill them? If your answer is “All of the above,” you’ll be beyond thankful for these West Chester-based pros who rid your home of pesky vermin in the most environmentally friendly ways possible. (And they’ve got a guarantee.) greenpestsolutions.com/.
Leahy Learning
It’s not all Harvard and Hopkins: Founder Meghan Leahy homes in on your children’s strengths, weaknesses, interests and goals in order to get them into a college that most suits their needs. Along the way, she’ll teach them skills – independence, time management – to thrive on campus once they get in. 50 East Wynnewood Road, Wynnewood, PA 19096, leahylearning.com/.
The Market at DelVal
Delaware Valley University’s locavore campus grocery stocks produce from the school’s fields and nearby Shady Brook Farm; it’s also home to a full-service bakery and a deli counter that slings hearty sandwiches. 2100 Lower State Rd, Doylestown, PA 18901, themarketatdelval.com/.
PackagePost
Though still very much in start-up mode, PackagePost connects you with a nearby business that will keep boxes safe while you’re not home. Don’t yet see your ’hood in their area of service? Make a request via their website. mypackagepost.com/.
Georges Moving Cleaning Co.
You ever just look around your house and think, “Who’s going to do all this stuff?” Well, look no further. Furniture assembly, home organizing, junk removal? Done. Just bought a couch but don’t have a truck to pick it up? They’re your guys. georgesmovingcleaningcompany.com/.
Rotelle Development Company
The Chester County builder will produce “a home that fits your everything” for you from a mix-and-match menu of layouts, styles, configurations, features, finishes, options and add-ons. You can have it built on your own lot or choose one from their developments. Need ideas? Peruse the showroom to see many examples. 1011 Ridge Road, Pottstown, PA 19465, rotelle.com.
Golden Nugget Antique Market
Get here early Sunday morning (6 a.m.), bring lots of cash (small bills are best for bargaining), wear old shoes (the open-air gravel lot is dusty), and, if you're smart, rent a U-Haul to lug home your treasures. 1850 River Road (Route 29), Lambertville, NJ 08530, gnflea.com/.
Rob Mahon
Why do people speak of this musculoskeletal therapist in hushed, reverent tones? In a two-hour appointment, he pinpoints the source of a patient's pain; resolves it with stretches, massage and realignment; and sends him or her out the door with instructions for at-home maintenance. Just like that—poof!—the pain is gone. The Bellevue, 200 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, robmahon.com/.
Skirt Stone Harbor
The satellite location of this Main Line fashion mainstay brims with coffee-table books on seaside living, beachy Jonathan Adler home accessories, shelf upon shelf of colorful jewelry, and enough Calypso, Pink Pineapple and Alice and Trixie for you to stylishly out-prep anyone at the yacht club. 272 96th Street, Stone Harbor, NJ 08247, shop-skirt.com/.
Instacart
Sign on, pick out whatever you want from Whole Foods, Super Fresh, Green Aisle Grocery or even the liquor store, and have it in your hands at the office, at home in about an hour. It sounds indulgent, but it's not — free to sign up, and just a few bucks a load, plus tip. instacart.com/.
Philly EyeWorks
This new Rittenhouse-based start-up is taking on Warby Parker: In addition to sending at-home try-on pairs (the collection includes more than a dozen frame styles with Phillyistic names like "Yo Adrian" or "The Jawn"), they'll even get your prescription from the optometrist, so you don't have to. 131 South 18th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103, phillyeyeworks.com/.
Puppy Yoga
Don’t expect to do a lot of working out in this workout. It’s mostly about animal rescue orgs helping puppies find homes – and puppy snuggles. Lots of puppy snuggles. Popping up at studios like Amrita Yoga & Wellness and OpenBox Athletics.
Brian Maher
Whether in his personal training studio in Center City or in the privacy of your own home, Maher, a certified strength and conditioning specialist, provides a custom exercise program, sensible nutrition advice, and, most importantly, the firm but friendly voice you need to drown out your inner "I'll just skip today" monologue. 1429 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102, phillypersonaltraining.com/.
Wharton Esherick Museum
Sculptor Esherick's former home is now a please-do-touch-the-art, worth-the-advanced--reservation gem (without the bitter Barnes neighbors), and it displays more than 200 of his works mostly wood furnishings that haven't been moved since the artist's death in 1970. $12 for adults; $6 for children. 1520 Horseshoe Trail, Malvern, PA 19355, whartonesherickmuseum.org/.
Sierra
Consider this the HomeGoods of sporty life: You’ll find everything from Schwinn bikes to North Face rain jackets at such steep discounts that it’s NBD if you give up your newfound paddleboard obsession by next summer. Additional location in Moorestown. 107 East Swedesford Road, Exton, PA 19341, sierra.com/.